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Nurses union at Christ Hospital fears lockout

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Members of the nurses union at CarePoint Health Christ Hospital on Palisades Avenue in Jersey City say they fear they’ll be locked out of work if a contract isn’t agreed to by June 15.
(Journal File Photo)

The union that represents hundreds of nurses at Christ Hospital in Jersey City says the hospital's owners are threatening to lock them out if the workers don't agree to certain bargaining demands by June 15.

One of the demands, according to the nurses union, is for staff to agree to work at any of the three Hudson County hospitals owned by CarePoint Health, not just at Christ Hospital.

Health Professionals and Allied Employees, the union that represents more than 1,110 workers at Christ Hospital and Bayonne Medical Center, said the alleged lockout threat is unprecedented.

"We have never seen a lockout threat when there was no counterveiling threat of a strike," HPAE spokeswoman Jeanne Otersen said. "Ever."

CarePoint Health, which owns the two hospitals plus Hoboken University Medical Center, tells The Jersey Journal that it doesn't want to get into "a war of words" with the union. But spokesman Spencer Baretz said in a statement that the company is in "a very challenging reimbursement environment" that leaves "future performance" uncertain.

"We have a deep respect for our nurses and HPAE and we view them as true partners," Baretz said. "We don't want to get into a war of words. Our desire is to continue negotiations amicably and we are hopeful that we will arrive at a reasonable agreement that is mutually beneficial for both sides."

The 375-member Christ Hospital nurses union was working under a 22-month contract that expired on May 31, according to Oterson. She said the union would want to continue negotiating beyond June 15, but that CarePoint told the union it had to agree to CarePoint's demands by then or be locked out of the hospital the next day.

The issue has political heavy hitters appearing to take the union's side. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith sent letters on Monday to CarePoint adviser Peter Kelly, formerly Christ Hospital's CEO, urging the company to "bargain in good faith" and "refrain from threats."

The two letters contain almost the exact same language.

"I am very concerned that CarePoint's actions have the potential to disrupt care in our communities in Hudson County," both letters read.Baretz said he understands the mayors' concerns.

"We believe they can be great allies in bringing parties together and encouraging reasonable resolutions," he said. "We also know that they want the hospitals to avoid unaffordable contracts, as they are well aware of the negative effects of unsustainable cost structures given the hospitals' near closure during bankruptcy."

Christ's Hospital's nurses contract was the first of three set to expire this year. HUMC's contract with its nurses union is set to expire June 30, while BMC's expires July 31.

CarePoint purchased BMC for about $32 million in 2008, HUMC in 2011 and Christ Hospital in 2012 for $43.5 million. The three hospitals were nonprofits and in dire financial straits before CarePoint, a for-profit company, bought them.

Nicole Mankowski, a Christ Hospital nurse and president of the local nurses union, said the hospital's staff fought to keep the 42-year-old Palisade Avenue hospital open when it filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

"We are still fighting," she said in a news release, "this time to protect patient care, and secure safe nurse staffing levels for our patients."

Otersen said the union and hospital management are meeting again today to negotiate.

Union nurses were locked out of BMC for three days in 2009 over a contract dispute. CarePoint owned the facility then under a different name.